Carcassonne is a city of 50,000 people located in southwest France, 45 minutes from Mediterranean beaches, 1 hour from the Pyrenees, 1.5 hours from the Spanish border, and 5 hours from Paris by train.

Carcassonne is home of two UNESCO World Heritage sites. La Cité de Carcassonne is the largest fortified medieval city in Europe and one of the most well preserved. The Canal du Midi, a 17th century canal that runs from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, is now Europe’s most popular pleasure waterway.